It involves the establishment of ACFC offering comprehensive cyber security and business continuity solutions ranging across protective, detective and responsive capabilities

by S BIRRUNTHA / Pic courtesy of Celcom

AXIATA Group Bhd together with its subsidiary, Celcom Axiata Bhd, has allocated RM65 million towards strengthening cyber security capabilities in the country.

The four-year investment also involves the establishment of Axiata’s Cyber Fusion Centre (ACFC) — which includes digital threat monitoring, hunting and protection of monitored assets and business continuity — offering comprehensive cyber security and business continuity solutions ranging across protective, detective and responsive capabilities.

Axiata Group CCO Asri Hassan said the group’s long-term investment and the launch of ACFC are part of the group’s digital trust and resilience focus that is ultimately aimed at taking an all-of-society approach towards enhancing cyber resilience.

“Since 2018, together with Celcom, we have invested over RM65 million to bolster cyber security capabilities in Malaysia.  

“The ACFC is the latest in this series of investments and we are confident that it will add significant value towards realising our aspiration of becoming a digital champion in the region, while also contributing towards creating a thriving and conducive ecosystem of cyber security competency in Malaysia,” he said in a statement today.

Asri added that in addition to driving situational awareness in cyber security for consumers and organisations in line with the growing reliance on digital ecosystems, ACFC is a platform to catalyse public-private partnerships and collaborations to heighten cyber resilience within the nation’s ecosystem.  

“We are also committed to digital talent growth as the ACFC will serve as an incubation ground to grow and develop Malaysian cyber experts,” he said.

Meanwhile, Celcom CEO Datuk Idham Nawawi said Celcom as a major industry player is committed to ensuring the delivery of state-of-the-art digital solutions such as cyber security, Internet of Things (IoT), cloud services and many more, that will play a critical role in driving digitalisation across Malaysian enterprises. 

“As a service provider for the past 34 years, Celcom will continue to stand alongside the nation in transforming its aspirations into reality.    

“We are committed to advocating and enhancing the resiliency of our nation’s cyber security, leading towards building a more sustainable digital ecosystem that will benefit the people and achieve the nation’s digital aspirations,” he said.

Idham added that together with world-class international and local technology partners, Celcom strives to reach out to as many business owners, organisations and public sector agencies, with its combined field of expertise, innovative solutions and backed by the group’s nationwide network infrastructure.    

He noted that currently, Celcom has the cooperation of 39 technology partners, 24 of which are homegrown organisations, and are actively working towards expanding its ecosystem and the advancement of the nation with technology solutions and services, including the upcoming 5G.

Celcom will be among the first users of the facility which is primed to serve organisational needs in governance risk and compliance, strategy and architecture for IT and telecommunications security, among others.  

The ACFC facility is located in Celcom’s headquarters and is equipped with active defence and active offence capabilities, enabling more proactive and preventive actions to strengthen cyber security responses for organisations.

It offers protection from over 20 cyber threats every day and up to 630 incidents per month based on 24/7/365 cyber security monitoring.

Today, the ACFC services clients across six countries, monitors more than 10,000 information sources that span IT and telecommunications network assets.